{"id":39894,"date":"2016-11-12T05:15:17","date_gmt":"2016-11-12T13:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=39894"},"modified":"2016-11-15T06:38:29","modified_gmt":"2016-11-15T14:38:29","slug":"black-coffee-he-who-panics-first-panics-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id39894-black-coffee-he-who-panics-first-panics-best.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: He Who Panics First, Panics Best"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"black<\/a>It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe …<\/em><\/p>\n

Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the world of money and personal finance.<\/p>\n

Off we go …<\/p>\n

Credits and Debits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> For what it’s worth, President-elect Donald Trump spent $4.57 per vote<\/a>. His challenger, Hillary Clinton, spent $8.80. I’ll let you fill in your own joke here.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? The number of Americans who are not in the workforce swelled to 94.6 million<\/a> in October; that figure was magnified by the loss of 9000 high-paying manufacturing jobs last month. Forward!<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> In fact, America has lost 36,000 manufacturing jobs<\/a> since 2014 and replaced them with 547,000 waiters and bartenders. No, that’s not a viable strategy for increasing the nation’s standard of living — but it is<\/em> a great way to ensure you’ll never have to wait long for a good seat at your favorite restaurant. Well … at least for those who can still afford to eat out.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Of course, the lack of manufacturing jobs is one reason why real wage growth has been non-existent<\/a> for more than a decade.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> I’m sure the growing number of Americans who are no longer in the workforce is partially due to the recent surge of Dallas policemen who have been prematurely retiring<\/a> in order to ensure they could cash-out their pensions before the fund implodes.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Not coincidentally, there was a ‘pension fund panic’ in Dallas earlier this week when the city’s mayor warned that a 130% property tax hike<\/a> would be required to raise the $1.1 billion in 2018 that the Dallas Police & Fire Pension (DPFP) board says is needed to avoid collapse. Yes, 130%. Apparently the mayor isn’t planning on running for reelection.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> According to their website, the DPFP fund covers 9300 police and firefighters<\/a>— which means that $1.1 billion tax hike represents almost $120,000 for each one of them. Wow. Too bad most Dallas taxpayers don’t have pensions of their own — even so, they’re still on the hook to save for their public servants’ retirement as well as their own. Am I the only one who sees a problem here?<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Frankly, every<\/em> government pension is in trouble<\/a> — not just the one in Dallas. And while it’s true that our civil servants’ gold-plated retirement benefits are guaranteed by law, it’s also true that you can’t get blood from a stone.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Finally … Here’s another example of why you should never assume that your cash in the banking system is perfectly safe: Overnight — and without warning — India banned the use of 1000- and 500-rupee notes<\/a> except for purchasing goods and services at hospitals, gas stations, pharmaceutical shops, and train stations. I guess that’s not so bad if you need a heart transplant. Or own a Hummer.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Think about it: If it’s that easy for bankers to steal your hard-earned purchasing power<\/a> directly from the physical cash in your wallet, imagine how easy it is for them to control your electronic “wealth” stored on their servers.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> The “good” news is that Indian savers who got caught with their pants down can go to their local bank and exchange every 1000 rupees in outlawed-bills for 700 rupees in usable currency; that’s an instant wealth reduction of 30%. Psst. The bankers are not your friends, folks — even the ones here in the US. Got gold and silver<\/a>?<\/p>\n

By the Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Friday was Veterans Day in the US. Here are some facts on the annual holiday that honors those who have served in the military:<\/p>\n

1938<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Year that Veterans Day became an official US holiday.<\/p>\n

18,800,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Number of living US veterans.<\/p>\n

1,600,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Number of living US veterans who are women.<\/p>\n

8<\/b><\/span> Percentage of US businesses that are veteran-owned.<\/p>\n

1,600,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Number of US veterans who are younger than age 35.<\/p>\n

72<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Median age of all US veterans.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Number of states with more than one million veterans. (California, Texas, Florida)<\/p>\n

4.5<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Percentage of New Yorkers who are veterans; that’s the lowest per-capita veteran population among all 50 states.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Alaska’s rank among states with the highest veteran population. (10%)<\/p>\n

Sources: CtPost<\/a>; Ballotpedia<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Last Week’s Poll Result<\/strong><\/p>\n

What percentage of your paycheck are you currently setting aside for retirement?<\/p>\n